2012/04/26: BBC: Agency plea over climate warningLeading energy ministers have been told the world is on track for a long-term temperature increase of 6C unless they change their priorities. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said on current trends, emissions would double from 2009 to 2050. The deputy director of the IEA, Richard Jones, urged ministers: “Please take our warning seriously.” He was speaking at the Clean Energy Ministerial, a forum for 23 major nations.

2012/04/25: PostMedia: Arctic faces ‘significant challenges’Polar year conference hears that global warming puts survival of some unique species at risk A unique, all-season study of the effects of global warming in the Arctic Ocean shows that climate change is reducing biodiversity and posing “significant challenges to the survival of some of the Arctic’s unique marine species.”

2012/04/24: PostMedia: Climate change is reducing Arctic Ocean biodiversity: $40-M studyA unique, all-season study of the effects of global warming in the Arctic Ocean shows that climate change is reducing biodiversity and posing “significant challenges to the survival of some of the Arctic’s unique marine species.” The study also shows that climate change is resulting in the increased distribution through the Arctic food chain of contaminants, such as methylmercury. The $40-million study, which was conducted by 10 scientific teams from 27 countries, spent 2007-2008 studying open water along what are called flaw leads, or breaks in multi-year ice, where they studied how global warming is changing the entire marine ecosystem in the Arctic. “The Arctic Ocean is definitely changing on a whole lot of different fronts,” said Prof. David Barber, of the University of Manitoba. The study was released Tuesday at the Polar Year conference in Montreal. The data was gathered aboard the research icebreaker Amundsen in the Amundsen Gulf south of Banks Island in the eastern Beaufort Sea.

2012/04/23: PostMedia: Leaders urged to put moratorium on industrial fishing in the ArcticSuch a move would avoid decimating potentially lucrative species such as cod The leaders of the five Arctic coastal states – including Prime Minister Stephen Harper – are being urged by more than 2,000 scientists from around the world to impose a moratorium on industrial fishing in the increasingly accessible waters of the central Arctic Ocean until experts can determine the size and sustainability of the resource. In an open letter signed by 551 Canadian scientists – along with about 1,500 others from 67 countries – the researchers issued an appeal to the governments of Canada, the U.S., Russia, Norway and Denmark to develop an international fisheries accord that would avoid decimating potentially lucrative species such as Arctic cod before enough is known about their populations.

2012/04/25: BBC: Population and consumption key to future, report saysOver-consumption in rich countries and rapid population growth in the poorest both need to be tackled to put society on a sustainable path, a report says. An expert group convened by the Royal Society spent nearly two years reading evidence and writing their report. Firm recommendations include giving all women access to family planning, moving beyond GDP as the yardstick of economic health and reducing food waste. The report will feed into preparations for the Rio+20 summit in June.

2012/04/26: BBC: Warm ocean driving Antarctic ice lossMost of the ice being lost from Antarctica is going as a result of warm water eating the fringes of the continent, scientists say. The researchers used a satellite laser to measure the thinning occurring on ice shelves – the floating tongues of ice that jut out from the land. The team’s analysis found the shelves’ shrinkage could not be attributed simply to warmer air. Rather, it is warm water getting under the floating ice to melt it from below.

2012/04/27: ABC(Au): Climate change speeding up water cycleRamping up The greenhouse effect is accelerating the global water cycle almost twice the rate predicted by climate change models, say researchers. Oceanographer Dr Susan Wijffels of the CSIRO and colleagues report their findings today in the journal Science.

2012/04/23: NatureN: World governments establish biodiversity panelScientists from more than 90 countries will unite to assess ecosystems and natural resources. Governments from more than 90 countries have agreed to establish an independent panel of scientists to assess the very latest research on the state of the planet’s fragile ecosystems. The decision, which will create a body akin to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), was made in Panama City this weekend, after years of negotiations. The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will be responsible for producing international scientific assessments on issues such as ocean acidification and pollination, to help policy-makers to tackle the global loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems.

It is evident that the Fukushima disaster is going to persist for some time. TEPCO says 6 to 9 months. The previous Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said decades. Now the Japanese government is talking about 30 years. [Whoops, that has now been updated to 40 years.] We’ll see. At any rate this situation is not going to be resolved any time soon and deserves its own section.Meanwhile…It is very difficult to know for sure what is really going on at Fukushima. Between the company [TEPCO], the Japanese government, the Japanese regulator [NISA], the international monitor [IAEA], as well as independent analysts and commentators, there is a confusing mish-mash of information. One has to evaluate both the content and the source of new information.How knowledgeable are they [about nuclear power and about Japan]?Do they have an agenda?Are they pro-nuclear or anti-nuclear?Do they want to write a good news story?Do they want to write a bad news story?Where do they rate on a scale of sensationalism?Where do they rate on a scale of play-it-down-ness?One fundamental question I would like to see answered:If the reactors are in meltdown, how can they be in cold shutdown?

2012/04/24: ERW: Greenhouse emissions must decrease by 3% a yearThe Copenhagen Accord, put together at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change meeting in December 2009, sets out the need to limit global warming to 2Â°C above pre-industrial levels, to avoid potentially dangerous climate change. Now researchers from the UK have re-assessed what this means for emission targets in 2020 and 2050.

2012/04/25: BBC: Brazil Congress delays forest vote law amid wranglingThe Brazilian Chamber of Deputies has delayed voting on controversial legislation that stipulates how much land farmers must preserve as forest. After tense discussions, legislators decided to put back attempts to hold a final vote until Wednesday. Farmers’ groups say the bill will promote sustainable food production. But environmentalists say the new forest code will be a disaster and lead to further destruction of the Amazon. The revamp of the forest code has been discussed for months, with the bill undergoing numerous changes. It was passed by the Senate in December.

2012/04/26: BBC: World’s glaciers ‘out of balance’Earth’s glaciers are seriously out of balance with the global climate and are already on their way to losing almost 40% of their volume. That is the assessment of scientists after studying a representative group of 144 small and large glaciers around the world. Their figure assumes no further warming of the climate.

2012/04/24: ABC(Au): Flood levels ease in western QueenslandRiver levels in western Queensland are finally falling below minor flood levels after months of prolonged flooding. The weather bureau says the Diamantina River between Roseberth and Birdsville in the state’s far south-west should fall below minor levels this week.

2012/04/24: al Jazeera: Rift Valley rainsHeavy and steady seasonal rains have caused severe flooding across parts of eastern Africa. Seasonal rains have caused severe flooding across parts of the East African Rift Valley in recent days. Many countries have been affected here including Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. It is likely that flooding will be a problem across this part of the continent for many weeks to come.

2012/04/23: Eureka: New South Asia network to tackle ‘massive’ climate adaptation challengeKnowledge network to inform everything from local climate smart farming to global climate talks Today, recognizing the knowledge gap between the existing evidence of climate change and adaptation on the ground, researchers in Asia launched a novel learning platform to improve agricultural resilience to changing weather patterns, and to reduce emissions footprint. The Climate Smart Agriculture Learning Platform for South Asia, established by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), will improve communication between scientists, government officials, civil society and farmers on best “climate smart” farming policies and practices in a region that is home to one-third of the world’s poor and malnourished.

2012/04/27: NatureNB: ‘eLife’ journal takes another step forwardThe hundred-plus scientists who will be working to shape a new open access journal backed by some of the world’s biggest non-governmental research funders have been unveiled. In total, the board of reviewing editors for the eLife journal number 175 and cover biological areas ranging from stem cells to plants to infectious diseases.

2012/04/22: CalcuttaNews: Europe loses oil argument to OPECOPEC countries have said they will not increase oil supplies to Europe, even though there have been requests for it to do so. OPEC countries have decided that European consumers and producers should be able to cope with the current prices of oil and shortfalls from the boycott of Iranian fuel.

2012/04/27: BBC: China approves dock project in disputed Paracel islandsChina has decided “in principle” to build a supply dock on an island it disputes with Vietnam in the South China Sea. The province of Hainan is looking to build on what is known as Jinqing in China and Duy Mong in Vietnam in the Paracel islands as part of tourism plans, according to a statement. There have been tensions over both countries’ claims to the chain of small islands and reefs.

2012/04/23: BBC: China needs ‘consistent policy’ on South China SeaChina needs a ”consistent policy” on the South China Sea if it is to resolve disputes, a new report says. The International Crisis Group said ”conflicting mandates” and ”lack of co-ordination” among Chinese agencies had stoked tension in the region. Philippine and Chinese vessels remain locked in a two-week stand-off at a remote shoal which both sides claim. Meanwhile annual joint military exercises between the US and the Philippines are continuing in the area.

2012/04/24: People’s Daily: Chinese embassy urges Philippines to stop illegal activities in China’s territoryThe Chinese Embassy to the Philippines lodged a representation to the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department on the harassment of Chinese fishermen by Philippine Navy in a lagoon in China’s Huangyan Island of South China Sea, the embassy said in a statement issued on Wednesday. The Chinese embassy reiterated China’s sovereignty over Huangyan Island, and urged the Philippine side to stop immediately their illegal activities and leave the area.

2012/04/24: BBC: YPF Repsol row: EU warns Argentina over nationalisationThe EU’s trade commissioner has warned Argentina that its nationalisation of the oil firm YPF will have long-term consequences and may put off investors. Karel De Gucht said the EU would seek a settlement at the World Trade Organization if necessary. Last week Argentina decided to strip the Spanish firm Repsol of its controlling stake in YPF and took over Repsol’s offices, infuriating Madrid.

2012/04/26: PlanetArk: Analysis: Dow’s New Corn: “Time Bomb” Or Farmers’ Dream?A new biotech corn developed by Dow AgroSciences could answer the prayers of U.S. farmers plagued by a fierce epidemic of super-weeds. Or it could trigger a flood of dangerous chemicals that may make weeds even more resistant and damage other important U.S. crops.Or, it could do both.“Enlist,” entering the final stages of regulatory approval, has become the latest flashpoint in the debate about the risks and rewards about farm technology. With a deadline to submit public comments on Dow’s proposal at the end of this week, more than 5,000 individuals and groups have already weighed in. Dow Agrosciences, a unit of Dow Chemical Co, hopes to have the product approved this year and released by the 2013 crop.The corn itself is not the issue — rather it is the potent herbicide chemical component 2,4-D that is the center of debate.

2012/04/26: AzCapitolTimes: Bill aimed at stopping United Nations takeover of U.S. advancesThe Arizona House of Representatives on Wednesday gave initial approval to a bill that some proponents say is aimed at stopping a United Nations conspiracy to take away the rights of American citizens. Critics say the bill is not only based on crackpot “one-world-order” theories, but that it would make valuable state programs illegal and take away the state’s authority to manage natural resources. The bill, SB1507, sponsored by Sen. Judy Burges, R-Skull Valley, would make it illegal for any government entity in the state to abide by any tenet or principle of the non-binding United Nations Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, adopted by the international group in 1992. The declaration includes 27 principles, such as promoting sustainable communities, managing natural resources and working toward the eradication of poverty.

2012/04/27: Forbes: Inspector General Faults EPA Radiation MonitoringTwenty percent of the EPA’s stationary radiation monitors were out of service last year at the time of the Fukushima nuclear accident, leading the U.S. Office of the Inspector General to conclude that the EPA’s Radnet system is “vulnerable” and managed with less urgency and priority than it deserves.

2012/04/26: ScienceInsider: Fusion Wins Big in House Spending BillFusion research would get a major boost in a Department of Energy (DOE) spending bill approved today by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations. The panel rejected an Obama Administration proposal to cut funding for domestic fusion research in the 2013 fiscal year, which begins 1 October. It would also give more money than requested to an international collaboration building the ITER fusion reactor in France. Fusion’s gains, however, mean losses for DOE’s environmental and basic energy research programs.

2012/04/23: BBC: Public back wind farm subsidies, survey suggestsMore Britons than not regard subsidies for wind power development as a good deal, an opinion poll suggests. Commissioned by trade body RenewableUK, the Ipsos-Mori poll found that 43% see the UK subsidy as good value for money against 18% who do not. Another survey has also found a big majority in favour of renewable energy.

2012/04/23: BBC: Renewables ‘help jobs and growth’The renewable energy industry supports 110,000 jobs in the UK and could support 400,000 by 2020, a report says. The Renewable Energy Association (REA) and consultants Innovas conclude that the industry is worth Â£12.5bn per year to the UK economy.

2012/04/27: EurActiv: Danes ring the alarm over EU energy savings billDenmark, the country currently holding the rotating EU Presidency, has hit out at EU countries for defanging the proposed Energy Efficiency Directive, and called for ring-fencing a key article imposing an annual 1.5% energy savings target on power companies. “It’s true that the member states have been more eager to water down the [energy efficiency] rates than support them,” Martin Lidegaard, the Danish climate minister told EurActiv on the fringes of the London clean energy summit on Wednesday (25 April).

2012/04/23: EurActiv: MEPs press Commission on 2020 green master planWith 60 days left before the Rio sustainable development conference, MEPs have sent a message to the European Commission to produce “without delay” an ambitious environmental agenda for the decade ahead that avoids past failures. The Parliament on Friday (20 April) adopted an 11-page resolution highlighting the shortcomings of the expiring Environmental Action Programme (EAP), including what it says are failures of national governments to slash air pollution and implement other green legislation.

2012/04/27: ABC(Au): Greens urge protection for non-GM farmersThe Greens says Western Australian canola crops need to be protected from contamination as international demand plummets for genetically modified (GM) crops. This week it was revealed CBH is paying up to $45 a tonne less for GM canola than its organic counterpart.

2012/04/27: ABC(Au): Black Saturday arsonist jailed for almost 18 yearsA former Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteer has been sentenced to 17 years and nine months in jail for killing 10 people by deliberately lighting a bushfire on Black Saturday. Brendan Sokaluk, 42, was found guilty of 10 counts of arson causing death in the Victorian Supreme Court for deliberately lighting the Churchill fire on February 7, 2009. He will serve a non-parole period of 14 years.

2012/04/26: ABC(Au): Planning minister attacks NSW FarmersThe NSW Planning Minister has slammed the NSW Farmers Association over its attitude to land use, calling it “almost irrelevant.” Brad Hazzard has taken aim at the farmers over their opposition to the State Government’s Draft Strategic Landuse Plan. The association is seeking limits on where mining companies can and can’t go.

2012/04/24: ABC(Au): Combet predicts Asia-Pacific carbon trading pactClimate Change Minister Greg Combet says Australia’s carbon trading system could eventually be linked to those in China and other Asia-Pacific countries in a system which would eliminate “competitive disadvantage” between the region’s economies. Mr Combet is in Beijing to speak to officials about how Chinese carbon trading systems will work before heading to South Korea, where legislation is currently before parliament.

2012/04/29: ABC(Au): Embattled Thomson suspended from Labor partyJulia Gillard has brushed off calls for an early election in the wake of Craig Thomson’s decision to move to the crossbench after being suspended from the Labor Party. Speaking to reporters at a lunchtime press conference, Ms Gillard said she had made the decision to suspend Mr Thomson today because “a line had been crossed” and it was the “right thing to do”. She also said Speaker Peter Slipper had agreed to extend his exile from the Speaker’s chair.

2012/04/27: ABC(Au): Stoush over policy future as drought endsMark Colvin: For a decade it drained the spirit and finances of regional Australia but from Monday the drought will be officially over. Today an added political complication came into the move, when the Federal Government scrapped interest rate subsidies for drought-affected farmers.

2012/04/23: ABC(Au): Murray-Darling plan ‘deceptive and misleading’A group of scientists has told a Senate inquiry the draft plan for the Murray-Darling Basin is deceptive and misleading. The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists has told the inquiry that the draft plan proposed by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority must be withdrawn, arguing it will not prevent a return to drought The plan was released in November and an extensive public consultation period ended this month. A member of the Wentworth Group, John Williams, has told the inquiry there is not enough information in the draft for Parliament to make an informed decision.

2012/04/26: PostMedia: Canadian action on Fukushima confused, directionless: reportNo one seemed certain which federal department should do what, report says The Canadian government’s ability to handle a nuclear disaster is questioned in a report on federal actions during last year’s Fukushima crisis. The emergency revealed a confused federal bureaucracy, unsure of which departments were responsible for measures such as informing Canadians about radioactive fallout migrating across the Pacific, says the report by a special review committee established by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. That and other concerns “exposed the lack of clearly defined responsibilities and leadership as it pertains to a nuclear emergency in Canada or a global event,” it says of the federal government.

2012/04/23: PostMedia: Stephen Harper’s push for pipelines likely to backfireIs the Conservative government deliberately trying to manufacture dissent against proposed pipelines to bring Alberta oil to the B.C. coast? It’s hard to imagine another explanation for the heavy-handed way Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver are trying to bulldoze opposition to the two proposals now on the table to transport bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands to markets offshore.

2012/04/26: PostMedia: Janet Bagnall: Muzzling the scientists won’t hide Canada’s poor emissions recordCanada has cut an odd figure as host of the International Polar Year conference, which draws to an end today. Hundreds of scientists from around the world are in Montreal to discuss the dramatic changes to the Arctic’s biodiversity, energy dynamics and ice melt. Canada, in the form of Stephen Harper’s government, was not interested in discussing any of these topics, or in allowing government scientists to talk about them either. While the Arctic melts and methyl mercury contaminates the food chain in the far northern latitudes, the government seemed more interested in resurrecting East Germany’s Stasi, assigning minders to Environment Canada scientists. The minders, members of a large and growing federal government “communications” apparat, are to make sure the scientists don’t talk to journalists without Ottawa’s permission. Environment Minister Peter Kent blandly assured the House of Commons this week that this is “established practice.”

2012/04/24: CBC: Federal scientists closely monitored during polar conference — Environment Canada media relations staff oversee interviewsMedia liaison staffers have been sent to an international polar conference in Montreal to shadow Canadian government scientists during interviews, in what critics are calling the latest example of extreme information control by the Harper Conservatives. Hundreds of researchers from around the globe arrived in Montreal this week to attend the International Polar Year Conference, but those scientists working for Environment Canada were also accompanied by so-called “media relations contacts” tasked with monitoring and recording interactions with the press. Ahead of the conference, the Canadian participants were reportedly sent a memo ordering them to have a government liaison present during conversations with reporters. While none of the government scientists would speak on record about their media monitors, one researcher told CBC’s Dan Halton off-camera that the strict communications measures were an embarrassment to Canada.

2012/04/22: PostMedia: Critics pan instructions to Environment Canada scientists at Montreal conferenceGovernment media minders are being dispatched to an international polar conference in Montreal to monitor and record what Environment Canada scientists say to reporters. The scientists will present the latest findings on everything from seabirds to Arctic ice and Environment Canada’s media office plans to intervene when the media approaches the researchers, Postmedia News has learned. Media instructions, which are being described as a heavy-handed attempt to muzzle and intimidate the scientists, have been sent to the Environment Canada researchers attending the International Polar Year conference that started on Sunday and runs all week. “If you are approached by the media, ask them for their business card and tell them that you will get back to them with a time for (an) interview,” the Environment Canada scientists were told by email late last week. “Send a message to your media relations contact and they will organize the interview. They will most probably be with you during the interview to assist and record,” says the email obtained by Postmedia News.

2012/04/23: CCurrents: Climate Change: The Psychological, Political Or Moral Implications That Conventionally FollowCanadian Green Party leader Elizabeth May, NDP environment critic Megan Leslie and Liberal environmental critic Kirsty Duncan should join together in non-partisan, high road, big picture leadership on climate change. They should ask Canadians: “Is climate change an emergency?” alerting to the best state of the art science, the scale of emission reduction necessary, and what is at stake for our children and grandchildren and our culpability. A report, a website, a series of op-eds and interviews. No need to mention the Conservatives.

* It repeals the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. The government had previously announced that Canada would pull out of the global agreement on greenhouse gas emissions.* It contains the changes to a number of pieces of legislation dealing with the environmental assessment process. The bill sets timelines for assessment hearings, allows Ottawa to hand off assessments to the provinces and consolidates the process in three government agencies: the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the National Energy Board and the Canadian Environment Assessment Agency.* It gives the federal cabinet the authority to approve new pipeline projects and sets time limits for regulatory reviews. The changes mean if the National Energy Board disapproves of a project, cabinet can force it to reconsider.* It makes changes to how permits under the Species at Risk Act are authorized.* It overhauls the Fisheries Act to focus only on major waterways, not every single body of water, something Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz announced Tuesday.* It sets out stiffer fines for industry players who break environmental regulations and laws.

Critics aren’t happy that such fundamental changes to environment policy are contained in a budget bill and won’t get the scrutiny they deserve. “It is an affront to democracy to bury such far-reaching changes to laws Canadians depend upon to help protect our environment in the budget implementation bill in order to avoid public scrutiny,” Greenpeace spokesman Keith Stewart said in an email to The Canadian Press.

2012/04/25: PostMedia: Fisheries Act overhaul likely to reduce regulatory burden on Enbridge pipeline: ministerBut Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield rejected allegations that the federal government’s plan was a result of corporate pressure The federal government’s planned overhaul of the Fisheries Act may reduce the regulatory burden facing companies like Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. to get approval for major projects, Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield acknowledged Tuesday. But Ashfield rejected opposition allegations that the federal government’s plan for a “more sensible and practical” Fisheries Act was a result of corporate pressure from the energy and mining sectors.

2012/04/24: PostMedia: Cuts threaten Canada’s satellite eye on the ArcticA majority of Canadians see Arctic sovereignty as the country’s top foreign-policy priority, according to a recent poll by Ekos Research for the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs. Yet, Canada’s ability to effectively monitor and manage its interests in the Arctic appears to be in jeopardy in the face of funding cuts by the federal government and conflicting spending priorities at the Canadian Space Agency.

2012/04/24: Straight: David Suzuki: New rules make it easier for Canadian government to harm the environmentFew people would argue against making environmental review processes and regulations more efficient — as long as they’re effective. But changes announced in the recent federal budget don’t do that. Instead, they make it easier for the federal government and industry to push through projects that could harm the environment and the economy, and limit the ability of ordinary Canadian citizens to have a say in matters of national importance.

2012/04/22: G&M: Ottawa to wrest control of environmental approval processThe national energy regulator will have the power to impose tough conditions on controversial pipeline proposals — and new powers to enforce them — even as the federal cabinet takes over final approval of projects like the Northern Gateway pipeline, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver says. The government is poised to introduce legislation as early as this week that will revamp its environmental assessment process and turn over many reviews to the provinces. Among the changes is the move to give the federal cabinet power to overturn any decision by the National Energy Board to reject a project on environmental grounds.

2012/04/26: PostMedia: Vancouver council, park board to formally oppose Kinder Morgan pipeline expansionVancouver’s majority party on council and park board are formally opposing Kinder Morgan’s plan to twin its oil pipeline from Alberta in order to boost exports to Asia. On Tuesday Vision Vancouver said it would introduce two motions next week – one at council and one at park board – arguing that the expansion of the pipeline and the resulting tanker traffic in Vancouver harbour would put the city at unnecessary risk of a spill.

2012/04/24: G&M: Fraser River sockeye may suffer damaged heartsCould salmon in the Fraser River be dying from damaged hearts? That is a question the Cohen Commission is essentially being asked to consider in an application that seeks to have the hearings reopened so new information on an emerging fish disease can be examined. The federal inquiry into the decline of sockeye salmon in the Fraser River ended evidentiary hearings four months ago and staff are now busy working on the final report, which is due by Sept. 30. But in a letter to the Cohen Commission this week, lawyer Gregory McDade, who represents the Aquaculture Coalition, asked that the hearings be resumed to hear “new information regarding the presence of piscine reovirus (PRV) and heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI) in aquaculture salmon in British Columbia.”

2012/04/23: PostMedia: B.C.’s sovereignty threatened by aggressive push for EnbridgeHearings assessing the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline project and legislative changes planned in Ottawa compromise the province’s sovereignty and threaten its authority to defend British Columbians’ interests, warns a letter from Robyn Allan, the former president of ICBC, to Premier Christy Clark and other leading provincial politicians.

2012/04/26: G&M: Alberta’s carbon capture efforts set backThe three major companies involved in a project aimed at reducing Alberta’s carbon footprint have dropped out, striking a major blow to the province’s efforts to combat fierce international criticism over oil sands emissions. TransAlta Corp. TA-T, along with partners Enbridge Inc. ENB-Tand Capital Power Corp. CPX-T, cancelled their $1.4-billion carbon capture and storage effort Thursday, opting to pay the penalties for emissions rather than cutting them.

2012/04/27: BBC: Total profits hit by weak petrochemicals demand[…] Net income for the first three months of the year was 3.66bn euros ($4.82bn; Â£3bn), down 7% on a year ago. However, sales rose 11% to 51.17bn euros.[…] Also on Friday, Italian oil firm ENI reported a 42% rise in first quarter profits to 3.62bn euros.[…] On Thursday, Royal Dutch Shell announced an 11% rise in profits to $7.66bn (Â£4.74bn) in the first quarter.US giant Exxon profits fell 11% to $9.5bn after oil production fell 5%.

2012/04/26: BBC: Shell and Exxon: Differing Q1 fortunesRoyal Dutch Shell has announced a rise in profits as strong demand for energy keeps oil prices high – but rival Exxon saw oil production and profits fall. Shell made $7.66bn (Â£4.74bn) in the first quarter, 11% more than last year. At US giant Exxon, profits fell 11% to Â£9.5bn after oil production fell 5%. Production has been falling partly because some older fields are running short of oil.

2012/04/24: BBerg: Solar Silicon Falling 9% Widens Slump That Hit SolyndraPolysilicon, the raw material used to make most solar panels, is forecast to fall another 9 percent from its lowest in a decade as a supply glut narrows margins throughout the industry. The average spot price of the material will finish this year at about $22.10 a kilogram, according to the median of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The price, which four years ago topped $475, tumbled about 70 percent in the 12 months to $24.27 on April 16, the lowest since at least 2002.

2012/04/24: BBerg: German Solar Demand Surprisingly Resilient, Biggest Builder SaysDemand for solar panels in Germany, the world’s largest market for the equipment, may hold up until the third quarter, according to the biggest builder of sun- powered plants. The German government’s plans to cut solar subsidies by as much as 29 percent hasn’t impacted demand as quickly as expected, Bernhard Beck, chief executive officer of Belectric Solarkraftwerke GmbH, said in an interview.

2012/04/27: EurActiv: Nuclear stress tests go over deadlineEuropean states will be given extra time to carry out tests on nuclear plants, to ensure they can withstand natural and man-made disasters, before any laws to improve nuclear safety are proposed, the EU’s Energy Commissioner GÃ¼nther Oettinger has said.

My first novel Water was published in Canada May, 2007. The American release was in October. An Introductionto the novel is available, along with the Unpublished Forewordand the Launch Talk(which includes some quotations), An overview of my writing is available here.

“Watching the President serve up the tired narrative that speculators have driven the price of oil should dissuade optimists from thinking the US public is ready to face up to reality.” -Gregor Macdonald